by Judy Handley | Sep 30, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs, Cape Cod, USA |
2019 Life Logs, Day 273: Happy Birthday to Heather
Date: Monday, September 30, 2019
Weather: Overcast; High 72, Low 63 degrees F
Location: Aboard Merganser, Pier 3 Marina, Philadelphia, PA
Happy birthday to my baby girl. Well, not quite a baby anymore, but she will always be in my eyes. I got a phone call from her this evening and she reported that she had an absolutely lovely day.
Kevin flew to LA in the wee hours of the morning for a business meeting and will be back in tomorrow morning. So, Claire took Lynne and I on an all day historic tour of old town Philadelphia. According to Lynne’s FitBit, we walked 17,280 steps or 8.15 miles today. Whew! It was quite a walking tour. We hit all of the historic places in old town starting with Ben Franklin’s grave stone in the Christ Church Burial Ground. It is just a huge granite slab covered with pennies that people shower upon it. It was ironic when we ended the day in the Ben Franklin US Post Office. In between those two Ben Franklin landmarks, we walked by the Quaker Meeting House, the US Mint, the National Constitution Center, and the Independence Visitor Center. It was late morning by this time and we wanted to make an appointment to see Independence Hall. We were told that the first reservation available for a tour was at 3 pm, but we had much more we wanted to see, so that time was fine. We walked on to see the Declaration House display and then walked to China Town, and on to visit the Reading Market, one of the largest and oldest public markets in the country. We walked through what is now Macy’s, but was once Wannamaker’. There we saw the largest fully functioning pipe organ in the world as well as the bronze Philadelphia Eagle. We walked in and around the Philadelphia City Hall which is quite an impressive structure, and then we walked on toward Rittenhouse Square which is the heart of the city’s most expensive and exclusive neighborhood. We were all getting hungry but not sure where to eat when Claire literally looked up and saw a sign that said, “Organic Plant-Based Food.” We couldn’t resist and had a great lunch. It was nearing the time of our Independence Hall tour and there just wasn’t enough time to walk back, so Claire called an Uber and we were there in minutes. The Independence Hall tour was definitely the highlight of the day. We had a great guide who showed us the West Wing which served as a Court complete with a juror’s box and a defendant’s box where the defendant had to stand during the trial . . . thus the term ‘stand trial’. In the East Wing we got to see the room where the Founding Fathers wrote both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. As we walked back toward the waterfront, we ended our tour by walking through the place where Ben Franklin once lived and visited the US Post Office that bears Franklin’s name. It was a wonderful day.
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Tonight we visited aboard ‘Knock on Wood’, the boat owned by Chris and Georgette that we met last night. We had another fun evening together with Lynne and I telling boat stories. It has been so much fun for us to be staying aboard a sailboat once again. More tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Sep 29, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 272: Cape Cod to Philadelphia
Date: Sunday, September 29, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 81, Low 63 degrees F
Location: Aboard Merganser, Pier 3 Marina, Philadelphia, PA
There was more traffic than I anticipated on a Sunday, but I made it to Philadelphia just before 3 pm and then Lynne arrived about 45 minutes later. We spent time finding places to park our cars on the street rather than paying the $20 per night parking lot fee and then we headed to the marina to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with Kevin and Claire on Merganser. It had been a sunny day turning cloudy mid-afternoon, but when we got to Merganser the sun came out. We had a lovely time sitting at a picnic table at the end of the dock having appetizers and talking. A couple from another boat joined us and enjoyed the farmer’s cheese, made by Kevin today, along with sliced tomatoes and basil. And Kevin really enjoyed the Lebanon bologna that Lynne brought to him from Amish country in Lancaster. She drove from Michigan to Lancaster yesterday to visit with family and I told her that if she wanted Kevin to love her forever all she had to do was to bring him some Amish Lebanon bologna. So she did. Lebanon bologna is a type of cured and smoked beef sausage that is fermented. It is similar to salami. And it made Kevin very happy.
We had dinner at the City Tavern where our nation’s founding fathers ate, drank, and made merry while forming our new government. Today’s Tavern is a replica of the original that was established in 1773, but the original building, but the staff still wears period costumes. Before dinner, I had a sampling of beers made from recipes from George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton. Ben’s was my favorite. I had Chesapeake crab cakes for dinner, Lynne had Brook trout, Kevin had turkey pot pie, and Claire had a West Indies pepperpot soup. All delicious. When we got back to Merganser, we invited the couple we had met earlier to join us as we shared sailing stories. Tomorrow is tour day. So, Philadelphia, here we come.
by Judy Handley | Sep 27, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 270: Bike Ride and Newcomers Mix and Mingle
Date: Friday, September 27, 2019
Weather: Continued Beautiful Weather; High 73, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The beautiful and warm summer-like weather continued today. The weather this week has been just spectacular, but the frenzy of Monarch butterflies that seemed to be everywhere yesterday were no where to be found today. Do they know something we don’t about upcoming weather? Maybe. But more likely it is just time for them to head south to Mexico.
I have not been on a bicycle other than in the gym since my knee surgery. My PT person told me not to ride on the road for at least five months as it takes that long for nerves and reflexes to mend after surgery. She explained that the automatic reflexes for what to do when you have to stop and hop off the bike take time to return and without them, you risk falling over. Not a good idea for the new knee. I wanted to ride with the Newcomers bike group today, but at the last minute, I realized that I should really try riding around the neighborhood first to make sure I was ready for this. So I rode up and down and around streets in this neighborhood and practiced getting on and off the bike. It worked just fine, but I realized just how much out of shape I am. Tiny hills were challenging. So I hope to continue riding 3-5 miles in the neighborhood for a few weeks before rejoining the bike group. But I have to say that it felt great to be biking again. In the afternoon, I delivered a meal to Terry and Olivia. Olivia was released from the hospital yesterday after her knee replacement. When I arrived, the PT person was there working with her. I waited for him to finish and we visited a bit. I wish her the best in the recovery process. Then tonight I went to a Newcomers Mix and Mingle. It is always nice to visit with people you know and meet new people. Tonight I met a couple who are originally from Great Britain, but are not Falmouth residents. While talking the husband, he mentioned that his wife loves to garden. When I then followed up and talked to her, she convinced me to join the local Garden Club. Not sure I need another activity, but she made it sound to inviting!
Tomorrow is another soccer Saturday and early on Sunday morning I head to Philadelphia. So looking forward to meeting up with Lynne Kirwin and visiting with Kevin and Claire.
by Judy Handley | Sep 26, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 269: Gardens and Butterflies
Date: Thursday, September 26, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 75, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
When I close my eyes and think about my day, I see visions of gardens and butterflies. I started the day by attending an organizational meeting for Newcomers book groups. I have never belonged to a book group, but I’ve decided to give it a try. The meeting was at Highfield Hall and after the meeting, I visited one of their beautiful gardens. The flowers were lovely but the most noticeable thing was the plethora of butterflies, both Painted Ladies and Monarchs. Then when I got home and walked between my raised bed gardens, I was literally dive-bombed by Monarchs. I stopped and pulled my phone out of my pocket to try to get some photos. There were at least six different Monarchs feasting on my zinnias that are still in bloom. I was very disappointed with my gardens this year, but today made me realize just how much I love my gardens even though they don’t get enough sunshine to really flourish. Just too many trees. Stacy Murphy is a gardening who does lots of online gardening classes and she says, “A garden is not a thing . . . it’s a lifestyle.” And I am dedicated to that lifestyle.
by Judy Handley | Sep 25, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 268: On the Road Again
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 74, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Summer is officially despite the lingering and sunny weather. But it is fall and time to change gears. So, this weekend, I’ll be on the road again. The song by that name, written and sung by Willie Nelson, was a theme song for my life with Mark and was highlighted in tonight’s last episode of Ken Burns’ Country Music. Watching this series was truly an emotional experience for me. Growing up in West Virginia, I totally rejected any image of being a hillbilly and I hated country music, but Ken Burns has given me a reborn appreciation. In tonight’s episode, I really enjoyed learning more about Kathy Matea. She is from Cross Lanes, West Virginia, which, when I was growing up, was just a part of the town of Nitro where I grew up. Her father was an engineer at Monsanto where both my brother, my sister, my brother-in-law, and my sister-in-law worked. They knew him and my nephew Tommy, much younger than myself, went to school with Kathy. I had heard her name from family members before this series, but I knew nothing about her music. Now I know her story, as well as so many others. Thank you, Ken Burns.
Now back to being on the road again. This Sunday I head to Philadelphia to visit with friends Kevin Russell and Claire McKellar. Another good friend, Lynne Kirwin, is going to meet me there, and we will spend a couple of nights aboard Kevin and Claire’s sailboat, Merganser. Kevin and Claire are going to give us a tour of Philadelphia on Monday and we will spend hours just visiting together. Kevin and Claire joined Mark and I in the Bahamas in 2015 and we met up with Lynne and Ed in an anchorage in the Exumas. It will be some wonderful to be together again. I will head home on Tuesday or Wednesday and then on Thursday I head to Maine for the Celebration of Life of Rich Kole, the husband of another close friend, Leslie. So, lots of traveling in the next week.
I happily report that Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco did back to Puerto Rico last night. Evidently Tropical Storm Karen had moved on by the time their flight from Dallas to San Juan landed. So I’m now hoping that there are no more reports of earthquakes or tropical storms/hurricanes in Puerto Rico this fall.
by Judy Handley | Sep 24, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 267: Rude Awakening
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 76, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I woke up this morning to the news that there had been an earthquake out in the ocean on the northwest side of Puerto Rico. Justin and family live on the western side of the island but they have been vacationing in New Mexico, so were not home. Then I saw that a tropical storm was headed across the island. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco were flying home today, but not leaving New Mexico until the afternoon. They were flying from Albuquerque to Dallas and then on to Puerto Rico. What a day for the people in PR. The good news is that there was no tsunami as a result of the earthquake and no damage was reported. And the tropical storm is now about 85 miles from San Juan, but still close enough that there will be squalls during the night and into tomorrow. I haven’t heard a travel update from Justin, so I’m hoping no news is good news. In the morning, I will look forward to hearing that they are home safe and sound.
Today was a half day of school for the Goldpebbles, so I spent the early part of the afternoon with them. I canned marinara sauce and did some laundry while I was there and when Jed got home, I took off to get to an appointment. Then I did some cooking tonight while watching another episode of Country Music . . . more great stories.
My good friend Olivia had knee replacement surgery this morning. Terry sent an email to friends letting us know the surgeon said it went well. Knowing Olivia, she will be back to walking her three miles a day in no time.
